Mother to Mother
by white pedal
Summary: Taking place in Smoke and Shadows, Ursa and Odette have a heart to heart about their past's, leading Ursa to make a big decision for the future of her family. For Autobot00001


_**A gift for Autobot0001 for helping me on one of my stories:) Thank you man.**_

_**Also, this one shot is based off of his Swan princess/Avatar Crossover idea based off "The Search" and "Smoke and Shadows" and thought about Odette and Ursa becoming friends in his AU and ask me to write a scene from "Smoke and Shadows" with Odette and Ursa talking about something personal.**_

_**I also want to thank Lithuiwen2016 for letting me use her story 'Swan Princess 4: The Last Airbender" as inspiration for my one shot. Thank you dear!**_

_**Enjoy:)**_

_**P.S. This takes place in the middle of Smoke and Shadows.**_

* * *

Ursa was sitting alone in her and Ikem's room as she solemnly stroke the doll she made Kiyi with great sadness.

Days ago, her youngest daughter was taken by the terror group, the Kemurikage, and Zuko and team Avatar went to search for her and the other children that were kidnapped. Her husband Ikem went with the other villagers of the capital to help by Ursa's request to find their daughter. Ikem asked Ursa to come with him, but she declined as she knew Kiyi didn't want to see her if she was ever found.

"Ursa?" a female voice spoke,

The ex-Firenation princess looked up and smiled as she saw Odette, the princess of Swan Lake who was transported into their world with her husband, prince Derek and their toddler son, Orion but an unforseen force.

Ursa couldn't remember exactly how, except that a man named Rothbart was involved.

"Hello Odette," Ursa greeted, "I didn't hear you come in."

Odette came in and sat next to Ursa. Odette's long blonde hair was half up like Ursa's with a Fire ornament on top, and was wearing a sleeveless red silk dress with a red and yellow scarf wrapped around her waist. Since Derek and Odette are royalty, they wanted to establish alliances with the other nations while showing appreciation for Firenation culture and wanted to help Zuko restore the honor of the Firenation after the hundred war.

Slowly but surely, with them helping Zuko out, the Firenation will have it's chance to be seen in a positive light as one of the four elements again.

Odette looks at the older beautiful woman with concern as she saw her stroking her daughter's doll, "How are you holding up?"

Ursa frowned and looked down at the doll again.

"It's been a long time since Kiyi touched the doll I made her...since she touched _me._ When I got my face and memories back I was happy that I got my son back, but now I realize that me turning back into Ursa, I made Kiyi lose the mother she has known all her life the moment I erased Noriko."

Since Ursa got her original face back, Kiyi wanted nothing to do with her as she no longer looked like the mother she had since she was born. To Kiyi, her mother Noriko was gone forever, and all she saw was this stranger she never knew before who was trying to act like her mother when Kiyi believes Ursa is the reason 'Noriko' disappeared and hates her for taking her 'mother' away.

Odette placed a comforting hand on Ursa's shoulder, "Don't worry, Ursa. I'm sure when things cool down and we get Kiyi back, she'll start to realize that you are her mother, while you're not Noriko anymore, Kiyi might realize that she never lost her mother to begin with."

Ursa shook her head, "But that won't change the fact that I've decieved her since she was born when I changed my face...and chose to forget my other children when I gave up my face and identity years ago...leaving her with no idea that she had siblings that were being held hostage by their father and that I was once the Princess of the Firenation...I didn't want to leave or forget them, but I had no choice! It was the only to protect Hira'a, Ikem, Kiyi, Zuko, Azula...and myself." Ursa started to tear up.

Odette frowned seeing Ursa like this.

"Ozai was that bad, was he?"

"...He was an absolute monster."

Ursa turned her head to look at Odette as she began to tell her story.

"When Azulon and Ozai took me from Hira'a, I had to give up everything to make sure my village, my family and Ikem were safe. Firelord Azulon wanted me to marry Ozai because of a prophecy the sages told him about combining Sozin and my grandfather Roku's blood to create powerful benders for the nation that will ensure the nation's power for centuries to come. I knew I couldn't say no as it would result in serious consequences, you don't just say no to the Firelord and expect him to not burn down the village for treason. And because Avatar Roku was my grandfather, we are technically seen as traitors to the royal family due to what happened between Roku and Sozin years prior."

"The look on Ikem's face when I left haunted me for years, and on mine and Ozai's wedding day when he told me I could never see or speak to my parents again, see Ikem or have anything to do with Hira'a as the new Firenation Princess, and that I belonged to the Nation...and him...I lost everything that day."

Odette had a sad look on her face, hearing Ursa lose everything and being taken practically prisoner by Ozai made Odette feel heartbroken for the woman.

"I tried to make my marriage work with Ozai of course in the beginning, since we were bound by a prophecy I thought things would get better and thought that maybe destiny would bring us together. When I got pregnant with Zuko, he was happy and so was I and I thought with Zuko we can try to build a meaningful relationship as parents and be a happy family, but things went wrong when I went into labor three months premature. I was six months pregnant when I gave birth to Zuko and doctors thought he woudn't make it, and Ozai thought that Zuko wasn't a bender and wouldn't survive either...so he wanted to throw Ozai over the palace balcony."

Odette's eyes widened in horror, "Ozai wanted to throw Zuko from the window when he was born!?"

Ursa's eyes were filled with agony as she remembered that horrible day when her innocent child was almost killed by his own father.

"Thankfully Ozai listened to my plea's and the Sages to spare him and give him a chance. But he was convinced that Zuko wouldn't survive because he was a premature baby, but Zuko pulled through and got healthier and stronger everyday," Ursa began to smile, "my baby boy was a fighter, and I knew he was destined for greatness, but it took me a while to trust Ozai to be around him again after that."

"I can see why. I can't believe that a father would want to do such a thing to his newborn child!" Odette exclaimed in disgust.

"Eventually things started to get better, then a year later I fell pregnant with Azula who was born healthy and strong. But Ozai became obsessed with her as he saw a 'spark' in her eyes when he first saw her."

Odette blinked, "The 'spark'?"

Ursa continued, "The spark he spoke about was her potential as a fire bender. I didn't know what he meant by that, but years later when Zuko was three and Azula was two, Zuko took a toy Azula wanted to play with. One of the nannies told us Azula got upset and ended up spouting fire and nearly burned Zuko and almost destroyed the playroom, that was the day Azula's firebending made itself known, and Ozai had this sick grin on his face as he saw the damage Azula caused from that incident."

Odette realized what Ursa meant by her words, "That was the day Ozai saw Azula as a weapon and started to train her to be the fire bender she became."

Ursa frowned, "Yes, and that was when Ozai started to mold Azula into a version of him...and our marriage officially collapsing. I missed my homeland, my parents...and Ikem, and realized being Ozai's wife was a mistake and not only did I become a prisoner in an abusive marriage, my children were born into a prison as well in a dysfunctional family, with the Firenation court and their father seeing them as political pawns and weapons because of their bloodlines. Zuko was condemned for being kind and for his firebending being weak due to his premature birth, and Azula was praised for her firebending but was being corrupted by those around her to the point where even I nor Zuko could reach her."

Ursa tightened her grip on the doll in her hands.

"Ozai turned Azula against me and her brother and she and I had a tense relationship ever since. I didn't want our relationship to be so strained, but I had to be the disciplinarian since no one else was looking out for her well-being and was twisting her moral compass each day into something terrible, but in the end I made myself be the villain in Azula's eyes because I was the only one who didn't give in to her cruelty."

Ursa felt her heart sank as she remembered her eldest daughter and the last time she saw her as a child. The mother remembered the times Azula was bullying her brother and turtle ducks, even her friends Mai and Ty Lee and how she was disrespectful to those around her, and Ursa had to force her hand and punish and disciplined Azula constantly. Ursa didn't know why Azula was so cruel and abusive to those around her, despite Ursa trying to be a constant presence in her life like Zuko and tried to be a good influence for both of them. When Ursa found out Ozai and the Firenation court not only praised Azula constantly for her abilities, they were also encouraging her increasing cruelty, this infuriated the former princess and she confronted Ozai for how he's making Azula's behavior worse and if he doesn't stop and correct Azula's behavior when she's wrong, it will cause problems for their family and Azula in the future.

Of course her husband ignored her, and Ursa had no choice but to be the disciplinary parent to Azula alone.

Ursa teared up, "...I feel like I failed Azula...just like in a way I failed Zuko."

Odette shook her head, "Ursa, you didn't fail anything. No parent is perfect, and you were doing your best in the situation you were in."

"No...but with Zuko I made things worse for him...you heard of the fake letter, have you?" Ursa asked.

Odette was silent for a moment, and nodded, "I did...I do have to admit, that letter was pretty extreme, especially when you wanted to trick Ozai into thinking Ikem was Zuko's father to catch him reading your letters."

Ursa's eyes started to get glassy again, "...It wasn't the intent...I never intended to write that Zuko was Ikem's son, it was supposed to be a fake love letter."

"Huh? It was? Then how come Ozai believed you wrote that Zuko wasn't his son?"

"...Odette...there's something you should know about me."

Odette blinked in curiosity, "What is it Ursa?"

Ursa looked up at Odette with a mix of embarassment and guilt, "...I can't read or write well."

Odette was stunned, "Really? But how?"

"I grew up in a village where we don't really have the proper education in reading or writing, it was only when I was sent to the Capital to marry Ozai did I start to learn about reading and writing. But my grammar and pronoun's were much to be desired. I started to write letters to my family and Ikem so they could not only contact me again, but I was trying to get them to learn how to read and write to so we can correspond better."

"When I started getting suspicious of Ozai getting my letters and not sending them, and Elua working for Ozai under coercion, I wrote a fake love letter for Ozai to read for him to be angry enough to confront me so I could get the truth. But because of my poor writing skills, when Elua and Ozai read the part where I said Zuko had Ikem's eyes, they mistook it as Zuko being concieved before my wedding to Ozai. When he told me about this, I was stunned that he would ever think that Zuko wasn't his son, and that he knew he was his son because had spies on me prior to our marriage or our first meeting back in Hira'a. I was furious when he told me that, it not only confirmed that he was reading my letters and not letting me speak to my family, it made me realize that the prophecy about our bloodlines combining was a lie he made up to trick his father into marrying us, and somehow got the Sages involved to comply. So out of anger from learning the truth and Ozai believing the letter was about Zuko's paternity, I went along with it and said it was wishful thinking, and that I wanted Ikem to be Zuko's father instead...and Ozai punished me by hurting Zuko, pretending he was Ikem's son."

Odette was stunned hearing this revelation. Ursa's fake letter was never about Zuko's paternity at all, it was just a fake love letter that was interpretted wrong because of Ursa's writing skills.

Ursa looked down, "And since then Zuko was treated like trash from Ozai...and after I left the palace when Azulon died and reunited with Ikem to find the mother of faces, I knew I couldn't be part of my children's lives ever again. Not only would Ozai try to kill us if I did, I knew Azula would never leave the palace life to be a peasant and already resents me for the times I reprimended her...and with Zuko, Ozai would show him the letter and Zuko would end up hating me for making his father despise him with it. And it wasn't just my children he made me lose, I lost myself included, Ozai stripped me of my individuality when he forced me into marrying him and because of him I couldn't be me anymore, and I couldn't be my children's mother anymore either because of him, at that point I felt they were better off without me because of my mistakes. All the horror that came to me and my children was because I was Avatar Roku's granddaughter."

"The grief was to much, and how I couldn't protect my children or try to do right by them because of Ozai's interference...so I had the mother of faces erase my face and memories so I could go back to the woman I was before Ozai took me away...not a descendant of Roku, but a woman of Hira'a who was free to make her own choices, and marry and have a family with whom I wanted. In order to save my children and my sanity, I had to be selfish."

Odette felt an overwhelming sadness for Ursa. Knowing that she was forced to marry a monster, having to watch as her husband abuse one child and turn the other one against her and her brother, then having to become an accomplice to Regicide to save her son because of Ozai's arrogance and later be banished and never be allowed to see her kids again made Odette quiver.

Ursa started to tear up, "I am the worst mother in the world...I'm just as bad as Ozai for leaving my children and forgetting them, I'm completely useless."

Odette's eyes shot up and shook her head, looking at Ursa sternly.

"No Ursa, you're not! You did everything you could keep everyone around you safe! You sacrificed your own happiness just so your village, parents and Ikem lived and you even sacrificed being a part of your children's lives to protect them from Ozai when he banished you! He made you suffer for years and after everything you went through, you had every right to be selfish for once. You needed to heal from the years of torture and abuse he put you through, if you didn't erase your memories you would have gone insane and possibly hurt yourself or worse and you wouldn't be able to be with Ikem and have Kiyi and Zuko and Azula would have lost you for good! You needed to come first after putting yourself last during your marriage to Ozai, and anyone who says anything different, they wouldn't last a day of what you went through for over a decade with that man!"

Ursa was baffled and blinked from Odette's outburst. When Odette realized what she said, she blushed and cleared her throat.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that." Odette said sheepishly.

Ursa blinked, then gave Odette a gentle smile, "You're sweet, Odette."

Odette smiled back, "If it means anything, I was once in your position to."

"Really?" Ursa said in surprise, "I thought you and Derek were betrothed first?"

"Well somewhat, my father and Derek's mother were more concern to making sure we fell in love more than for political reasons, though Derek and I never got along when we were children. But they never forced the marriage if it never worked out...actually, there was another man who tried to force me to marry him," Odette explained, "his name was Rothbart."

"Rothbart?" Ursa blinked.

"He used to be a sorcerer for my father, but in secret he wanted to take over the kingdom since my father was becoming old and didn't have a child for the throne. But when I was born, Rothbart saw me as a threat and tried to stage a coup, but he was caught by my father and was banished. But years later he came up with a more sickening idea to take the throne...legally by using me."

"How so?"

"...By forcing me to marry him."

Ursa went wide-eyed, "Marriage!?"

Odette nodded, "Rothbart figured out that by marrying me, my father's only heir to his kingdom, he can legally claim the throne as king by making me his queen since I'm my father's only child."

Ursa was shocked by the revalation, "So this Rothbart, he tried to do to you what Ozai did to me."

Odette nodded, "He did, and to make it worse, he cursed me as a swan until I agreed to marry him."

Ursa ember eyes widened in shock, "He cursed you!? As a swan? As in like a salmon swan or a aligator swan?"

Odette blinked at Ursa in confusion, until she remembered that in her world the animals were often a combiation of two combined into one and giggled, "Oh no Ursa, just a swan."

It was Ursa's turn to be confused, "Just a swan?...odd. But still, I'm so sorry he did that to you."

"Don't be, I told Rothbart I'd rather die than marry him since he killed my father...I wasn't going to be forced to marry someone I don't love, and who I loathed."

Suddenly, the door creaked opened, Ursa and Odette turned their heads and saw a small toddler walk in. His blonde hair all messy as he rubbed his blue eyes ad looked at Odette with tired but sad eyes.

"Mommy, I had a bad dream." he said.

Odette smiled and opened her arms, "It's alright, my love. Come sit with mommy."

The little boy was Orion, Odette and Derek's first child and only son. He was the spitting image of his mother, blonde hair and blue eyes, even Uberta commented he would one day be desired by all the women in the land when he comes of age.

Orion walked to his mother, where she picked him and he held on to her.

"Mommy," Orion started, "I dreampt about Kiyi."

Ursa's eyes widened and Odette looked at her son comfortly, "Really? What was the dream about?"

Orion continued in a sad tone, "I dreamt she was trapped in a room and everything was burning. And I saw the scary lady laughing while Kiyi was screaming."

Odette and Ursa looked at Orion in shock and horror. Until Odette held him tighter, "Oh sweetie, don't worry it was just a bad dream. I'm sure Kiyi is safe where she is and unharmed."

Orion's eyes watered a bit, "You think so, mommy?" he asked, and he started to yawn.

Odette smiled and nodded, "I do, Kiyi is very strong willed and won't let those Kemurikage bully her, she might kick them into the dirt."

Orion blinked, "You think so?"

Odette kissed his forehead, "I do, but Kiyi wouldn't be happy if you're up past your bedtime worrying yourself ill about her."

Orion yawned, "If you say so, mommy."

After few minutes Orion fell alseep in Odette's arms. Ursa smiled and brushed some of the blonde hair from his tiny face, "He reminds me of Zuko when he was this age." Ursa commented.

Odette smiled at her, then she looked at Orion again, "...You know, I think I know why I was so upset at your story."

Ursa tilted her head, "Why's that?"

"As I listened, your story reminded me of mine in a way. We were both being coerced into marrying a tyrant because of our bloodlines, but the difference is I was able to escape while you didn't, and your story made me think of the horrible things Rothbart would had done if he succeed."

Ursa's story made Odette think deeply about Rothbart and his plans had he married her. He didn't technically need her that much as having an heir can secure his position, and it made her think that if they had a child, would he discard her like Ozai did Ursa and take her child away and she would never see her child again? If Derek tried to take Orion away from her she'd never forgive him and would go scorched earth to keep her baby, but Ursa wasn't so lucky and she suffered through every mother's worst nightmare.

Ursa placed a comforting hand on Odette's shoulder, "I'm glad Rothbart failed, you don't deserve to go through what I went through," Ursa looked at a portrait of Firelord Sozin and Firelord Azulon, "But I feel that my story isn't done just yet."

"What do you mean, Ursa?"

"...For to long my fear of Ozai and the torture he put me and my children through had held me back. Despite reuniting with Ikem and finally being able to be with him, the fact i had to forget about my children to be able to escape Ozai shows that he still had power over me. But now that I got my son back, he still has Azula and the damage he's caused still effects us."

Odette looks at Ursa, "What are you saying?

Ursa tightened her hands around Kiyi's doll, "...Odette, when this is over. I must confront Ozai and put my demons to rest before I can try to talk to Azula, I can't allow the memories of his abuse of me and my children to continue to haunt me. Zuko was able to move on from that tyrant, now it's my turn, that way when Azula and I finally reunite, Zuko and I can help her heal from what Ozai did to her so she can let go of him to and be the person she is destined to become and not what he and the Firenation court wanted."

Odette's eyes widened, "Ursa...are you sure?"

Ursa nodded, "Yes, I want to make it clear to Ozai he has no power over me anymore, and that I was able to be with the man I love and have a family with him, and that our children are not his pawns anymore for him to use and throw away."

Odette was taken back, until she smiled, "In that acse Ursa, you have my support."

Ursa smiled, "Thank you, Odette."

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_**R&R**_

_**I hope you enjoyed it:)**_


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